There is a chicken at a place I ride and the person who owns that place just called me and said one of the chickens sounds sick! He doesn't have a computer so he wanted me to look into it...

The chicken has making a noise kinda like she is saying eeeeeeee all day!! The sound of the e is like the first e in egg.

This is a pheonix hen that is maybe 3 years old and has notlaid an egg all fall neither has the other hens...
Help!

Speed Racer

12-16-2012 04:27 PM

That doesn't tell us much. Why hasn't he called the vet if he thinks there's something wrong?

Lockwood

12-16-2012 05:04 PM

Chickens can and do get upper respiratory types of ailments and will sometimes make a noise like you describe if something like that is wrong. Their lungs are not like ours so the noise/weezing sounds is more contant.

Also, depending on the breed and age of the chicken, they molt in the fall. Molting is growing a new set of feathers, which takes a lot of energy to do, and most all chickens will stop laying eggs during this phase.
Also, many breeds do stop laying for the winter anyway. Or if they are a hearty year-round layer breed that isn't getting the right diet, will also stop laying for the winter.